Alfred Stieglitz: The Key Set - Volume I & II: The Alfred Stieglitz Collection of Photographs (Hardcover)

~ Sarah et al. Greenough (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A must-have...it contains 'the finest print of every mounted photograph in Stieglitz's possession at the time of his death.'" -- Choice

Product Description

Few individuals have exerted as profound an influence on 20th-century American art and culture as Alfred Stieglitz (1864-1946). This luxurious two-volume boxed set is the definitive catalogue of the Alfred Stieglitz Collection of Photographs at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, the most complete Stieglitz holding in existence, donated to the gallery by his widow, artist Georgia O'Keeffe.

Numbering 1,642 photographs, the collection represents the full range of the master photographer's work-from early studies made in Europe, to views of the majestic New York skyline, to incomparable intimate portraits of O'Keeffe. Coinciding with a major traveling exhibition and providing complete scholarly apparatus and a chronology, this sumptuous volume demonstrates how Stieglitz absorbed the most advanced artistic concepts of his time into photography and transformed the medium forever.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1100 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams; First Edition edition (August 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810935333
• ISBN-13: 978-0810935334
• Product Dimensions: 16 x 11.7 x 5.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 19.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #238,296 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding set, fine quality reproductions, October 31, 2005

By	euterpe - See all my reviews

This is a major contribution to the field of artistic photography and art history, and frankly, I am not sure what the previous reviewer was looking at or for when giving this award-winning set one out of five stars (it was rated "outstanding art publication of the year" by the Art Libraries Society of North America in 2002).

Greenough's 2-volume set is a standout in numerous ways. For starters, it is the first retrospective work that has attempted to establish some kind of chronological order to Stieglitz's photographs (many of his major works were never dated previously). Why is this important? Stieglitz was extremely influential not only as an artist but as a technician, introducing new photo cropping and printing methods at a time when photography was just starting out as a field of study. Without dates for his photographs, it had previously been impossible to determine for certain whether Stieglitz was employing (or improving upon) techniques that were already out there, or if he was forging ahead into unknown territory.

The scholarship undertaken here is impressive: in addition to the dating of all the material, Greenough provides copious notes about the images, including invaluable information about the reproduction process. There is a detalied appendix, bibliography, index, and concordances, as well as information of other Stieglitz photographs in other collections.

Apart from the scholarship, however, what makes this set standout is the quality and quantity of the images. There are over 1600 photographs in this set, and only about a third of them had ever been reproduced before. Many of the images here are print variants that Stieglitz produced from the same negative, showing how he experimented with printing (using carbon, platinum, gelatin silver, and palladium among other materials) as well as cropping/orientating/mounting of his prints. These images give us a more complete picture Stieglitz's thought processes in terms of his art, his experimental nature, and the methods he employed in presenting his vision to the world.

5.0 out of 5 stars Key Stieglitz, October 20, 2009

By	Deborah Verlen "dmverlen" (Park Ridge, IL USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

My sister is a photographer and this book a joint present among sisters. We all had to peek at the nearly 1700 photographs in this 20 pound book (two volumes) before we gave it to her!

Stieglitz is one of the most instrumental photographers of the late 19th and early 20th century. This compilation of his work is exquisite. The contrasting images, the use of light to make a point--even to a novice his genius stands out.

His photographs of New York City, Europe, and of his muse and second wife Georgia O'Keefe are truly masterpieces.

5.0 out of 5 stars The world is upside down!, October 8, 2009

By	DK (Texas) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

How insane is our world where a guy gets paid millions for throwing a ball, but a stunningly magnificent book set like this gets sold off at half price?
I am thrilled at the opportunity to buy this set at such a bargain price. It is a work of art in and of itself.
If you are a serious photographer or photography collector you have no excuse not to own this set. However you imagine it might be... it is better!